Rookie Resolve

Chapter 4

Clang!

Ha! Sprinter the Snail. My god, I am bored. Ember giggled at her thoughts, though somehow managing to still be attentive to the task at hand. Wrigley glanced at the rookie, who was trying not to giggle loudly.

"Is there a problem?" Wrigley questioned.

Ember, trying to swallow her amusement, said, "None sir. Just in my thoughts."

He seemed content with her answer and he turned his attention back to the corner. Soon enough it was lunch, and Wrigley drove them to a diner. He steps out and Ember follows suit.

Great morning, Officer Ross. I'm gonna drop you here for lunch" He points to the door.

"Excuse me?" Ember genuinely asked, not believing she heard what she thought she did.

"Oh, uh, I like to go home to eat, you know, get these wool pants off, air things out. Be back in 40." Wrigley walked out of the diner.

"Excuse me!?" Ember asked again, still processing what the heck just happened. Realizing that her T.O did in fact just drop her off in some diner, Ember figured she might as well make the best out of her situation. It wasn't as busy so that's a plus.

She grabbed her meal and sat at an empty booth. As she settled down, Ember couldn't help but compare her current T.O to her original one.

For one, Wrigley praised her without prompting or asking for it. Simply acknowledging her good deeds. And this was just in the first half of the shift. Whereas Mr. Big Bad Wolf seemed to have made it his personal mission to undermine and humiliate her.

Ember didn't want to think of Bradford as petty, after all she did call him a bastard, and muttered insults when she could in his presence, but what other reason would he have to be such a dic...

"Why the long face, Boot?" A smooth voice broke through Ember's thoughts, causing her to yelp.

"What are you doing here?" She asked panicky, pinching herself under the table to make sure she was actually seeing him, and not conjuring an image from her thoughts.

Bradford raised an eyebrow at the tone his rookie used, but decided to ignore it, and slid into her booth.

"Heard you got Wrigley. He always dumps his rookies here while he goes home to eat mac and cheese in his undies"

"Should I be worried that you know the exact state of undress my T.O is in? Or more concerned that you came over to check up on me? " Ember asked teasingly, after getting over her initial shock. She saw the unamused look on Bradford's face and she coughed trying to save face, feeling a slight heat rushing up her neck.

"I live around the corner. I was getting takeout." Bradford finally answered, mildly enjoying watching her squirm under his gaze.

"Right." She replied, half disappointed, half disbelief. She turned back to her meal, not interested in continuing the conversation.

"So, how's it going?" Ember wondered what exactly he was asking. Was he asking so that she can talk Wrigley up, and have her permanently transferred to him? Was he asking so that she can talk down on Wrigley's style of policing, and eventually write her up for insubordination?

This line of thinking can not be healthy, she thought.

"It's good. Officer Wrigley is, um - Yeah, he's - he's cautious." She settled with a half truth kind of statement. She truly believed Wrigley was a good cop, but that can mean different things to different people.

"He's what we call a slug, just doing his time, allergic to real police work." Bradford said, looking closely at his rookie's face, trying to see her reaction. He smirked when he saw a small smile trying to crack her face.